This economy stinks!

Okay. I've been pretty quiet about what's been going on in my life the past month but it's time to rant a little bit. Please bear with me... but before I start I'll let you know the story has a happy ending (sort of).

The end of last month I was brought into a meeting with my boss and our HR person (not a good sign). "First quarter earnings...... tightening the budgets.....blah,blah,blah....you're position is going away.....blah,blah....severance pay......" I ended up with a month's notice and due to my length of time at the company 8.5 years I had an okay severance package. After 2 weeks of looking around for something else in my pay/skill level I decided an extended "vacation" may not be so bad. Just as I got used to that idea and figured out I had enough savings to see me through the rest of the year, the resource center (copy/mail in our building) supervisor gave 2 weeks notice.

The same day that manager came over to me and said he would offer me the position however - it's 3 grade levels below me and the pay scale was below mine. By the end of the day my manager called to say they worked out a deal so they would pay me 90% of my current income for this position. However, that's over the top of the scale and that means come April I won't be able to get the annual increase. But - and here's where they got me - if I don't take the position I lose the severance package because they have offered me a job at 90% my pay scale and I do know how to do the position (after all I trained the last supervisor). I accepted figuring at least I have my benefits and any position that comes up in my grade level I can go for without having to be at this position the usual "at least 1 year".

I should spent the past week and the rest of this week clearing up my current projects and started this new position Friday this week. Life has been playing fun little tricks with my life lately so naturally the supervisor quit early - last Thursday. I was going to work with him this week to get passwords, supply ordering information, billing procedures, etc. I got NADA! I walked into the center Friday with no help (the help was pulled to another site because of an emergency there). Friday, Monday and today have been, to say the least, crazy. We got more copy jobs and projects than normal. One job was 16 cases of books to cut down to 6x9" and 3-hole drill. At least I hunted up some help for this and he's been great. I'm just not used to doing anything like this any more. I've become a desk jockey. Give me a spreadsheet, word document, etc. and I'll make magic happen. Collating 12 documents into one bigger document with slip sheets in between (25 times) and my shoulder muscles will complain!

In the middle of all this I keep getting phone calls from people wanting me to do my former job - the one I thought I'd have until Thursday to clear up. I still have to write the monthly newsletter and update several of the websites for our other sites. ARGH!

Okay - rant over......... I'll survive and I do have a job so I can't complain too much.

Now to make me feel better I'll work on my baby sweater and if I get bored of that I'll work on my socks. At least my off time is still the same and the boys will always give me a good purr!

Big Red Apple

The Koolhaas Hat is done. Finished it last night and threw it on my head. Yup. I'm a big red apple. I found out a couple things making this hat. I like cable, I don't like putzy little "cables" that happen on every stitch. Way too much work. Every 4th row you're you're moving every single stitch with it's neighbor and heaven forbid you forget which row you're on. I did end up with one row that was half row 1 half row 3. Not a pretty sight and of course ripping back is slow because of all the stitch movement you did to get that far. (I don't frog cause I'm from the old generation of knitting that used to rip before frogging was invented, so I rip.) Back to the hat.

I think I know where the other knitter (wish I could remember who it was) may have had problems with the decrease rows. The first decrease row starts out "*P1, knit next 2 sts through their back loops (k2tbl), p2tog......" and continues. The first time I started this row I was watching Deal or No Deal and they were into the Million Dollar Challenge. The garage man (one of New York's strongest) was picking off the low numbers and it was getting exciting and well - I wasn't reading the pattern as well as I should have. I started knitting - purl 1 - knit 2 together in the back loop - purl 2 together - etc. Got about 1/3 of the way through the row and knew I wasn't going to have enough sts left on the needles. So I re-read. AH! It's purl 1 - knit 1 in the back loop - knit 1 in the back loop - purl 2 together. That worked out the way it should.

I hope this was the problem the other knitter was having and that somehow she reads my blog and can finish her hat. It's a great looking hat and I'd hate to thing of someone making it to 10 rows left and not finishing! The other thing I'd change - I did 4 repeats. The pattern calls for 4 or 5 repeats depending on for a guy and gal. I should have done 5 repeats.

When I took the picture I was stunned at how grey my hair looked. I have some grey hair. I have since I was 29 years old. It's a fact of life but, most of the time the massive quantities of grey on both temples is kind of hidden in all the dark brown hair. Not in this picture. I did a lot of cropping to get rid of the grey. But with all this I'm still not ready to dye my hair. Too much work. I take a shower, wash my hair, towel dry , run a brush through and call it a day. If I had to think about touching up roots I'd die (no pun intended). Even my cousin started "highlighting" her hair. Am I the only one who isn't into all this fussy stuff?

A Knitter's Biggest Enemy

I love to watch HGTV, Food Channel, TLC, you know, all the channels with DIY type TV shows. But - I have to draw the line at the shows that are the knitter's biggest enemy. The shows that proclaim we have something wrong with us. The shows that tell us having a stash is wrong. I'm talking about the shows that think we will somehow be happier if we don't have our stash.



I watch the destashing shows like "Clean Sweep" and sometimes it makes me cry. Yes, these people have way too much stuff and, yes, they end up getting a cool room redo but, the cleaning team doesn't seem to understand - family treasure or hobby stash. One episode this poor lady was in tears about giving up something that was from her grandmother. They talked her into giving it away because the memories aren't the thing they're in her. Oh give me a break! I have things that by holding them brings back memories. I carry a small rock in my billfold from the last trip Laurie and I took together. When I hold that rock the memories flood back. We were up on top of one of the Black Hills and I was trying to call Mom on the cell phone to see if Chief and Jamie (pre Bert) were behaving. Jamie was old and not in the best health. That rock brings back the whole trip - it won't be thrown away even if it is "trash".

Chief, I'm old. Leave me alone! - Jamie

But I love you old kitty. - Chief

The same thing is true when I go through my stash. As I pick up the different hanks and skeins, I remember where I bought it, funny stories about how I debated buying "that" skein but was talked into it by someone, you get the idea. I dare the destashers to come into my house and try to convince me to I'll be happier if the stash goes away. No way, Jose!